Disorder In The Courthouse

Numerous People Have Been Directed To Wrong Rooms For Cases

December 19, 2004|By Robert Perez, Sentinel Staff Writer

SANFORD -- Judges and court personnel rave about Seminole County's new criminal courthouse, which opened in late October.

Its architecture is reminiscent of old courthouses, complete with a copper cupola. Its floor-to-ceiling windows bathe the interior of the five-story building in warm, early-morning light. Its location next to the Seminole County Jail makes security and prisoner movement worlds better than the old concrete pillbox in downtown Sanford that it replaced.

But inside its walls, confusion has reigned. In the seven weeks since it opened, there have been numerous instances of people being sent to the wrong courtroom or, at times, even to the wrong courthouse. The consequences have ranged from annoying to severe.

Earlier this month, a county judge issued arrest warrants for 11 people who sat not 100 feet away -- in the wrong courtroom. They, as well as seven others the previous day, were jailed for showing up late to their traffic-court hearings, though their records eventually were cleared.

Hiring a full-time staff assistant at the new courthouse would improve customer service and ease the confusion, court administrators said. The additional employee would help direct people to the correct courtrooms and tell them of last-minute changes, said Ron Serra, senior court administrator.

In a memo to County Manager Kevin Grace, Serra said the lack of personnel helped cause the confusion that led to the arrests earlier this month.

But county officials are balking at paying for the extra position.

Most employees in Florida's judicial system work for the state, but counties provide some additional staff support. Those county employees are supervised and report to state employees, and that is the problem, Grace said.

"The [County Commission] has been very supportive in the past, but now we're struggling with the issue of additional positions to help the courts out," he said. "Everything about these employees -- their salaries, their benefits -- is county. But they are hired, fired and supervised by state employees."

That violates the county's charter, which requires all employees paid for by the county to report to either the county manager or county attorney, Grace said.

"The memo is asking for an additional temporary position, which I'm not inclined to do," he said. "It expands an already untenable situation."

What's more, Grace said, he's not convinced there is a staff shortage.

But the answer may be to expand the number of approved state employees.

Court administrators and judges should ask the state Legislature to add the county positions to the list of state positions, Grace said. That would allow the county to continue paying for the jobs, but it would make them state employees, he said.